The Wedding
by Elven Heart993
Summary: "To Bill and Fleur Weasley!" Any pain and thoughts of war were temporarily forgotten as all eyes followed the couple swirling and gliding across the dance floor. For tonight, there was nothing but love and happiness all around. Twin centric, multi-chapter fic detailing the events after the wedding from the perspective of the Weasley family.
1. The Wedding

**The Wedding**

_And the walls kept tumbling down  
>In the city that we love,<br>Great clouds roll over the hills  
>Bringing darkness from above.<em>

_But if you close your eyes,  
>Does it almost feel like<br>Nothing changed at all?_

_**Pompeii - Bastille.**_

"Okay, okay. I know everyone wants ta get back to the schmoozing and the Butterbeer, so I'll be brief…" Charlie Weasley's loud voice carried well out of the marquee and anyone who had still been whispering among themselves immediately quietened and gave the Weasley who was standing on a chair to see over everyone, their full attention.

Charlie, as ever, was grinning broadly, his hair wild and sticking out in all directions as he stood before the group. On his right, Bill and Fleur stood arm in arm and both glowing with happiness as they looked up at him with interest. To the left, the parents of both the bride and the groom stood.

"As Bill's best man, and little brother, I thought it was kinda my duty to say somethin' on his wedding day. Mostly to embarrass him a bit in front of everyone, I mean, what else are brothers for?"

Everyone smiled, half the crowd chuckled softly and two equally loud voices chimed in with a hearty " 'ear, 'ear!".

Spurred on, Charlie continued. "But first, I'd just like to remind you all that we now have the first Mrs. Weasley in the family—well you know what I mean, Mum-" He winked, casting a slightly sheepish look sideways at his parents. "And with six sons, I think it's reasonable to expect at _least_ one more eventually."

His blue eyes scanned the crowd and rested on Ron, Fred and George in turn before grinning broadly and shrugging. "But knowing myself and my brothers, I don't think it'll be for a while."

Bill let out a loud slightly wolfish laugh and squeezed his new wife's arm affectionately.

Fred and George exchanged grins and George caught the eye of one of the Delacour cousins and winked suggestively. She promptly gave him a shocked look that quickly turned into one of haughty disgust and turned away with her nose in the air.

"So cheers to Billy for manning up and settling down…we were starting to lose hope when he found his first grey hair at only 22…when he didn't have the luxury of bein' able to blame that on any wolfish characteristics."

Clearing his throat, Charlie looked down at the couple and beamed. "Seriously though, congratulations, Bill. Who woulda thought you could land a girl like that?" He raised his glass and held it aloft in a toast. "Welcome to the clan, Fleur. To Bill and Fleur Weasley!"

"To Bill and Fleur!" Most of the crowd echoed, raising their own glasses and drinking to the newlyweds who kissed.

Charlie dropped from his perch atop the chair, and the music struck up again anew in the air with a jovial lively tempo. Fred and George immediately started up clapping a rhythm to the music, which many of the guests joined in at once, stepping back and parting to provide a space as Bill held out his hand for Fleur. Smiling as widely as anyone had ever seen her, Fleur took it keenly and glided out with him onto the dance floor.

Any pain and thoughts of war were temporarily forgotten as all eyes followed the couple swirling and gliding across the dance floor. For tonight, there was nothing but love and happiness all around. Nothing else mattered at the moment. It was easy to forget that members of the Order were still patrolling outside of the festivities.

After a few minutes, Arthur and Madame Delacour joined in the dancing, and Monsieur Delacour soon followed with Molly, effectively opening the dance to all.

Having quickly smooth talked his way into the affections of one of Fleur's friends, a graduate of Beauxbatons, Charlie wasted no time in having a spin around the dance floor himself.

Hermione had found herself an old admirer in Viktor Krum who, to the surprise of many, had been invited to the wedding. She was promptly whisked away by a very jealous Ron, much to the amusement of his brothers who watched the scene.

xxxXxxx

"What have you been doing, young man? Your ears are lopsided!"

George barely supressed a glare and forced a smile that came out more like a grimace as he ground out through his teeth, "I noticed, Auntie Muriel, you already said that today."

"Well then why haven't you fixed it yet?" The crow like old woman snapped, roughly slapping at her great nephew's cheeks. George winced and drew himself up out of her reach.

"Because I _can't_, you old co-"

"Don't you talk to me like that, boy. I'm much too old to be spoken to with that tone." She snapped indignantly and then seemed to hesitate, narrowing her eyes. "Which one are you?"

"George." George answered dryly, his eyes darting around trying to find an excuse to disappear.

"You stupid boys will be the death of each other. That's what I always said. Arthur always did need to keep a tighter leash on his sons." She tutted and fixed the twin with a piercing stare. "Well don't just stand there gawking like a troll, go do something useful."

George didn't need to be told twice. He eagerly stepped around Great Aunt Muriel and made a face and an obscene gesture at her back before vanishing into the crowd before she could catch him out on it.

"You ladies should see it next time you're in England. I guarantee I have something somewhere in the shop that'll tickle your fancy." Fred smiled charmingly and winked as he subtly slid his arm around the chair of the girl sitting nearest to him. He was having considerable success in chatting up three of the part-Veela cousins he had greeted before the ceremony. All of whom were exceptionally beautiful and all were giggling encouragingly at Fred.

Suddenly a hand clapped down on Fred's shoulder and George slid smoothly into a chair between two of the girls with an identical grin.

"What, you're not gonna introduce me?"

Fred made a face at his twin and kicked his leg under the table, something which only made George grin wider as he included himself in the conversation.

"George Weasley, ladies. As you can tell, we're twins and I'm the more handsome of the two."

"Keep dreaming, Lugless." Fred recovered and grinned back, gesturing to each of the women with the hand that wasn't currently making its way around the shoulders of the brunette beside him. "This is Marie, Isabelle and…" He winced slightly and held out his hand to the blonde on George's left, hoping inspiration would strike him before she realised he'd forgotten her name.

"Amelie." She huffed indignantly and swept her silver skirts over her knee as she daintily hooked one leg over the other.

Seeming much more interested in Fred than his double who had just arrived, Isabelle on George's right, cast her blue eyes quickly over the man who had just slotted himself in beside her and did a double take at the bandage.

"What 'appened to your 'ead?!"

George did not fail to note the way the women on either side of him edged away slightly and fixed him with slightly shocked, and very haughty expressions. His pride took a little hit and he wrinkled his nose a little, reaching up to gingerly touch the left side of his head.

"Oh that. Dark wizards, ya know. Dozens of them actually," He explained truthfully and then embellished the story a little. "We took all of them on at once, left me a bit deaf but some of them were a lot worse off I assure you."

George smiled broadly as the witches seemed suitably impressed and Amelie reached up to brush her fingers flirtatiously over the bandage. "Dozens? You must be very brave, George."

"Well we are formally Gryffindors, gotta be brave for that. And I was there too." Fred quickly chimed in, not keen to lose the attention to George so easily.

Marie turned in her seat, looking a little bemused. "Gryffindor" meant nothing to them after all.

George winked cheekily across the table and looked more than a little smug. "Yeah but you don't have a war wound. Told you I was still better lookin', Freddie."

"Does it 'urt terribly?"

His head was buzzing and humming again and George frowned a little and leaned his head a little further left to better hear over the music as Amelie's words were lost.

"What was that?"

"I said, does it 'urt?" She repeated louder, in slightly broken English.

"Oh, it's not so bad. Just a little hard of hearing."

"Old man." Fred hid behind a cough and looked away innocently as George shot him a look that clearly said 'I didn't hear it, but I'm pretty sure I know what it was'.

"You enjoyin' the wedding then, girls?" Fred asked suddenly, ignoring his brother and bringing his arm back off of Marie's chair.

Isabelle tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and cast a critical eye over her surroundings. "I still think Paris was more….appropriate. England simply does not have ze beauty."

"It is not ze wedding I would 'ave thought Fleur would want." Marie added, lifting her nose slightly. They had clearly been inspecting the family their cousin had just married into.

The twins exchanged a look and their mouths twitched identically as they bit back snorts of laughter. George glanced over his shoulder to where Fleur was chatting animatedly with her new parents-in-law, seemingly praising their efforts.

On the verge of happy tears yet again, Molly embraced Fleur warmly, and George thought with amusement the pair of them had never been so warm to one another.

"Yeah, she seems completely miserable." Fred grinned and winked, effectively softening the arrogance that the French women had let shine once again.

"Think I'll give the floor a little spin." George announced, getting to his feet and holding out his hand invitingly. "Any of you ladies care to join me?"

Isabelle was first to respond and with a bell-like giggle, took the hand George had offered and gracefully swept from her chair. Fred was more than happy with the arrangement, after all, it did still leave him Marie and Amelie to himself to charm.

xxxXxxx

There was definitely truth to what Charlie had joked about, and that was that it was probably very unlikely there would be another wedding very soon. Charlie was definitely the womaniser of the family and no one was quite sure where he had gotten that from. That wasn't to say the twins didn't get their fair share of charming pretty girls and had their share of girlfriends, and neither of them could foresee themselves settling down anytime soon. Ron was still only seventeen, and unless he and Hermione suddenly got their act together and realised that just about everybody in England knew they fancied each other, George wouldn't be surprised if Ron sat around grouchy and jealous for the rest of his days. Percy? There wasn't much to say about Percy. He hadn't even said so much as a "how do you do?" in a long time, let alone give Bill and Fleur his well wishes.

Spinning Isabelle under his arm, George flashed a grin as she let him lead her onto the dance floor. It was definitely the Veela in her, like Fleur, that made her particularly beautiful. She was wearing a dress of pale lavender that swirled around her ankles and complimented the chocolate brown hair that fell in ringlets down her back.

But it didn't take long for George to regret asking her to dance. After less than a full minute of spinning and rapid movement, the world began to sway before his eyes and the side of his head began to throb again. It was nothing bad, but he felt a little ill and the blood was pounding in his head, inhibiting his hearing more than it already was.

He stopped abruptly, causing his partner to nearly trip over his feet and earning an impatient 'tsk' from her.

"Sorry," George apologised, letting her go "Need some air. Nice dance, love."

Excusing himself, he slipped through the crowd outside the marquee and leaned on one of the poles as he waited for the spinning to subside.

"You okay, Fre-George? Darn, here I was sayin' I couldn't mix you two up now."

George opened one blue eye and peered around to find Tonks making a face and shaking her head at herself. He smirked and held up a hand.

"Yeah I'm fine, just need air for the ol' head."

"Oi, what'd ya do, you lanky goose?" Tonks chirped, chipper and poked George good naturedly in the side, masking her concern.

"I danced, is that a crime? My poor head's still sensitive, ya know?" The throbbing was starting to subside now and George let out a breath and straightened up. His head was still fuzzy like it was full of mothballs but the dizzy spell had mostly come and gone. Glancing back,

"That depends if you dance like Charlie or not." Tonks quipped, twirling her wand around in her fingers and George followed her gaze toward the sky for a moment.  
>It must be her turn on watch, George had completely forgotten that the Order and the Aurors were out here, keeping a wary eye out for any breaches of the protective enchantments.<p>

"Some party, huh?" George grinned, looking slowly back over his shoulder and the witch beside him copied the action and beamed.

"Sure is. They sure deserve this."

"Don't think I've ever seen Mum so proud of any of us." George smirked, his eyes twinkling in mirth as he drew himself back up to stand straight. "Or so relaxed for a long time."

"Distractions do wonders." Tonks said, gazing off in her husband's direction idly and then clapping her hand on George's arm. "Love to chat more, but I think I needa speak to me other half. Wotcher, George!"

The twin grinned and waved as Tonks excused herself. Having recovered from the dizziness, he re-joined the festivities. Swiping a glass of Firewhisky from a passing waiter and downing it quickly enough to drop it on the next tray that passed close by, he sidled his way back through the crowd.

The music had suddenly stopped, and a dead silence fell across the marquee, no one spoke and all eyes were turned to the dance floor where a silver stream had suddenly broken through the crowd and was twisting gracefully into the shape of a lynx.

Fred rose to his feet at the side of the dance floor and vaguely registered George pushing his way through to his side.

As Arthur stepped forward toward the Patronus, the cat opened its jaws and began to speak.

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

Someone screamed. And all hell broke loose.


	2. The Interrogation

**The Interrogation**

_And even when the rain falls  
>You and I will stand tall,<br>No matter what you go through  
>I'll never leave you.<em>

_At the end of the day  
>Some you win, some you don't,<br>So I'm glad that I'm here  
>With some friends that I know<br>__**Que Sera- Justice Crew**_

"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

A woman screamed in the background as the Patronus faded and almost immediately chaos erupted in the middle of what had only a minute ago been the picture of happiness.

Kingsley had gotten them a warning, they had to make good use of it. There was an ominous rumble overhead as the protective enchantments surrounding The Burrow were broken and Arthur pointed his wand at his throat and his loud "Everybody out of here!" was amplified over the din.

Witches and wizards were Disapparating all over the place as seconds later Remus and Tonks shouted a shield charm in unison and the attack began.

Death Eaters surged into the crowd and curses flew everywhere as people fought or fled. The Order sprung to life and leapt immediately to the defence as Hermione turned on her heel and took Ron and Harry with her, vanishing in a swirl of colour.

Fleur clutched at her husband's arms as he produced his wand from his sleeve and shielded her.  
>"Go, love! Where I told you!"<p>

"I will not leave zis family, Bill!" She protested, her heart breaking as their wedding was destroyed around them and turned him around by the elbow to face her. Fleur tenderly cupped his scarred face and rested her head against his. "I am part of eet now."

"Then you'll do what I ask, Fleur. Run! I _will_ come for you. I promise."

Fleur searched his blue eyes and found them pleading for her to stay safe and she could not deny him that any longer. A silver tear ran down her cheek.  
>"I love you." They whispered in unison and kissed once before Fleur vanished with a twirl and a pop and a curse shot through the very spot she had stood an instant ago.<p>

With a growl, Bill leapt to arms and deflected a curse aimed for his head as a Death Eater appeared beside him.

"Molly!" Arthur roared, charging through the mess of scattered glass and overturned tables towards his wife who was struggling to hold her own as a spiral of Dark Magic came hurtling toward her. Flicking his wand, he sent one of the tables flying into it and knocked the wizard off his course into a pile of fabric.

Lupin was releasing the wolf in him with a wild growl of anger as he duelled alongside Charlie who was battling to shield Ginny from the curses, trying to keep the attack at bay and praying that they had not seen the Trio Disapparate.

Tonks' hair had turned red as she sent a jet of fire at a Death Eater who turned it to sand in the air and stormed toward her.

Fred and George were back to back, ducking and weaving around each other in perfect synchronisation as they kept all angles covered. As one they both froze, wands raised and squaring off with a wizard one each side. As one, at just the right moment, the twins ducked down behind an overturned table, and heard a satisfying scream of pain as the Cruciatus curse hit the wrong target.

Tables were being overturned, every tablecloth and chair torn apart as they searched for their target who was nowhere to be found. There were at least a dozen intruders that Fred could see, a mixture of Death Eaters and Ministry wizards who were under the Imperious curse, and still worse, Ministry Wizards who were not under the influence.

Suddenly Charlie's wand went flying by Fred's head and, at his side, George barely twisted in time to avoid losing his remaining ear.  
>There were getting to be too many of them when someone bellowed "Stop! Wands down!"<p>

Everyone went quiet and there was a tense ceasefire as all eyes turned to the middle of the dance floor where Yaxley had Arthur's wand beneath his foot and he and another Death Eater held him at bay with two wands digging into his throat.

"Unless you want Daddy to get what all bloodtraitors should get." He finished with a sneer and without hesitation they all dropped their wands at their feet.

"Hm..." Rabastan Lestrange sneered from where he stood, his wand aimed unwavering at Bill's head, who was glaring at him wildly. "Comradery was always the Order's weakest link."

"Or its strongest asset." Remus snapped across the marquee and edged toward Tonks who stood by Ginny and was restrained by two wizards.

Yaxley ignored this and turned to Arthur, leaning in close and turning his wand to point at Molly warningly.  
>"I'll ask this nicely once. Tell me where Harry Potter is and no one needs to get in any trouble."<p>

"I don't know." Arthur replied steely, his jaw set as he drew himself up. "Now leave us alone."

"Wrong answer." Yaxley replied softly and turned to Molly who was being held back by Alecto Carrow. "Cruc-"

"Mum!" Ginny cried out, struggling forward a few steps and sufficiently distracting Yaxley who sneered and lowered his wand.

"Take 'em all and search the house." He ordered, grabbing Arthur by the back of his robes and marching him forward out of the marquee.

Fred fought against the grip the wizard had on his coat as he was pushed toward the Burrow, earning him a sharp poke in the back and a warning snarl from the Death Eater. He cast a glance around frantically, trying to see if anyone had been hurt.

Ginny was kicking and swearing at her captor who had the girl by her elbow and was having a tough time controlling her. He got sick of it after a minute and roughly picked her up, pinning her arms to her sides as the underage witch shouted and struggled.

"Leave her alone!" Tonks snapped from behind, her hair was still red in her anger.

Remus was the calmest of them all, and knew better than to fight when they were unarmed and outnumbered. But the Death Eaters knew that Remus Lupin was probably the most dangerous, and had taken precautions accordingly, two wands were always trained on his head.

Fred craned his head over his shoulder to find his brothers. Bill, who was usually so in control of himself, looked frantic. Who could blame him? This was his wedding day and he had sent his bride away to safety, he looked sick with worry.

Charlie was alongside Bill, with Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange keeping them secure. The Lestrange brothers were sadistic and cruel, and Rodolphus was taking great pleasure in making Charlie hop every few steps by firing a curse at his feet.

In front of Fred, George was being marched along by his shoulder and was leaning lopsidedly toward the left.

xxxXxxx

They were all marched into the kitchen and the table flew away and crashed carelessly into the wall, opening up the space.

Roughly, the captors released their charges but did not lower their wands. In a matter of seconds, despite despairing cries from Molly, the kitchen had been torn apart. Every cupboard was opened and emptied, every chair was thrown about the room.

Fred's fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles went white, and he could sense that George behind him was much the same.  
>No one needed Lupin or Arthur to tell them to keep their mouth shut and not tell them anything. Thankfully, no one knew any specifics like location to give away anyway, and Molly hadn't even known Harry, Ron and Hermione were planning on leaving in the first place.<p>

Yaxley, who seemed to have appointed himself in charge of the search, stepped forward again and looked slowly from one Weasley to the next before his eyes lingered on Remus and Tonks.

"Who wants to step forward and tell me where Harry Potter is?"

No one moved and his cold eyes narrowed. With a jerk of his head, one of the Ministry workers stepped forward with a roll of parchment and milky eyes. He was undoubtedly under Yaxley's Imperious Curse.

"Who do we have?"

The wizard, a man with a short but broad stature and a prominent moustache, stepped in front of Arthur and unrolled the scroll.  
>"Weasley, Arthur, 47. Pure-blood. Occupation: the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Married to Molly Prewett, seven children, two youngest still of Hogwarts age. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."<p>

He moved along to Molly whose hand was tightly entwined with her husband's.  
>"Weasley, nee Prewett, Molly, 47. Pure-blood. Married to Arthur Weasley, seven children. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."<p>

He moved along again to where Ginny stood scowling, but frightened between her parents and her brother.  
>"Weasley, Ginevra, 15. Pure-blood. Begins sixth year at Hogwarts as of September. Youngest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley."<p>

"Weasley, Charles, 24. Pure-blood. Occupation: Dragonologist. Resides in Romania most of the year. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Weasley, Fred, 19. Pure-blood. Occupation: Co-owner and co-founder of Diagon Alley's 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'. Identical twin of George Weasley. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Weasley, George, 19. Pure-blood. Occupation: Co-owner and co-founder of Diagon Alley's 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'. Identical twin of Fred Weasley-"

"Less identical now by the looks of things." One of the Death Eaters interrupted with a sneer and Fred felt his skin prickling with anger.

"-Known member of the Order of the Phoenix."

He finally moved along to the last of the family and peered at Bill, taking note of the new ring on his finger.

"Weasley, William, 26. Pure-blood. Occupation: Curse-breaker for Gringotts. Eldest child of Arthur and Molly Weasley. Married. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix. May show occasional lycanthropic tendencies."

As if to illustrate the last point, Bill growled quietly and tried to repress the urge to try and wrestle a wand off the man as he moved on to the last two.

"Lupin, Remus, 37. Half-blood. Formally a Hogwarts professor. Known member of the Order of the Phoenix. Werewolf."

"And finally; Tonks, Nymphadora, 24. Half-blood. Occupation: Auror. Known Metamorphmagus and member of the Order of the Phoenix."

Having finished, the wizard rolled up the parchment and stepped back into the throng of Death Eaters.

"Well, well, well…" Yaxley drawled. "Blood traitors and werewolves. But I only counted five ginger children. There should be seven." He raised his wand and traced Ginny's face with it. "Where are the others?"

"Ill." George had the foresight to answer, his thoughts immediately going to the ghoul they had disguised in Ron's bed. "Spattergroit. I wouldn't go up there."

Yaxley narrowed his eyes and lifted his head to the ceiling before drawing them down to George slowly. "Really? See, I don't think I believe ya. I think you're lying to me. I think the other kid's with Harry Potter." He jerked his head toward the living room and the staircase.

"Tear the wreck apart if you have to. Search it all!"

In a flurry of dark magic, they all dispersed. Furniture was overturned, and even the chimney was searched thoroughly.

Leaving two Death Eaters to keep them all in the kitchen, the rest nearly did tear up the whole house. Not a bed was left with sheets on it, not a closet or chest of drawers was left with clothes inside. Anything that looked suspicious or anything that looked like Harry Potter had been using it was seized immediately.

Only when they reached Ron's attic bedroom, did the invaders hesitate. Two Death Eaters and two Ministry officials stood frozen in the doorway as they gazed at the grotesque shape in the bed that was the disguised ghoul.

"They weren't lyin', Yaxley! Somethin's got spattergroit for sure!" The shout carried down a few floors to where Yaxley and Amycus Carrow had overturned the twins' old bedroom.

Leaving most of them to continue the search, Yaxley, and the Carrow and Lestrange siblings stormed back into the kitchen.

"You've all been lying." Rodolphus seethed, and thick cords poured from the end of his wand wrapped around Lupin, squeezing tightly. "Liars! All of you! Where is Harry Potter?!"

Not a word answered him. Tonks leapt forward, trying to break the spell binding her husband and was promptly sent sliding back into the wall with a thud.

Then movement from Amycus caught George's eye and he subtly nudged Fred beside him. The Death Eater was turning over a small, golden telescope in his fingers.  
>Getting the message, Fred took the lead and moved as if to snatch it away. "Don't touch that!"<p>

Amycus looked up and Yaxley snapped his attention to the twin that was looking quite uncomfortable and like he had just said something he shouldn't have.  
>"What are you hiding, boy?" He snarled, an inch away from Fred's face faster than any of them could have blinked.<p>

"Nothin'." Fred said hastily, and swallowed, edging back as far as he could. "It's really not anything more than a telescope."

Yaxley looked suddenly suspicious, and was not so quickly taken in. Amycus Carrow, however, was taken in by the guise and looked altogether triumphant. Before Yaxley could bark at him not to do it, he had lifted the thing to his eye.

Bang!

There was a great puff of black smoke and everyone but the twins jumped a mile and stared wide eyed at the scene.

With a pained roar, Amycus flailed his wand wildly to clear the smoke and had been left with a great, shockingly purple bruise over his eye. The boxing telescope lay on the floor, a little boxing glove sticking out of the end.

Fred and George were twitching with the mammoth effort it took not to laugh as identical grins started to creep over their faces. And then George couldn't hold it in and snickered aloud. It was a small victory, but it was a victory none the less.

"You think that's funny?" Amycus fumed, his wand drawn as he stalked over in front of Yaxley and seized the front of George's dress robes in one hand. "I'll give you somethin' you won't be laughing about!" He pressed the point of his wand hard to the side of George's head, right where his ear had been.

And then George was screaming and Molly was shrieking for her boy as he started to sink down toward the ground trying to get away from the searing, burning pain that was like a knife digging into the wound and twisting.

Carrow followed him and kept the pressure on hard as the bandages began to turn scarlet.  
>"Is it still funny, laughing boy?! Because I think this is hilarious."<p>

"Get off him!" Charlie and Fred both shouted in unison, bristling with anger. Fred's eyes were filling with angry tears as he watched George trying desperately to writhe away all the while screaming in agony.

"Crucio!"

More screaming. Charlie was on the floor twisting at angles that no human body was ever meant to twist in as Yaxley sneered down at him.

"Stop it!" Ginny was screaming and Molly was trying not to sob at the sight, her hands covering her mouth.

George couldn't hear any of it. The pain was so intense he felt sure he was dying and the blood rushing in his head had rendered him completely deaf to any sounds around him. His eyes were closed tightly and he felt the blood beginning to flow through the bandages and down his neck again. And then suddenly the wand was gone and he took a deep, gasping breath and dissolved into whimpers and groans as he slumped on his hands and knees on the floor.

He managed to open one very watery blue eye and his hearing slowly began to return. Then he realised he wasn't the only one whimpering with aftershocks.

Charlie scrambled to his feet, pale and trembling so badly he had to lean on Ginny's shoulder until his legs stopped shaking enough to support him again.

Fred struggled from the restraining grip the sneering Rabastan had on him and dropped to his knees beside his twin, covering the wound with his own hands to try and stem the bleeding.  
>"George….George, are you-"<p>

George nodded very slightly and slowly raised his eyes to glare fiercely at the Death Eaters. Letting Fred support him, he forced himself to get to his feet. He refused to be so low to these people.

"Liars and blood traitors the lot of 'em."

"Take 'em one at a time." Yaxley smirked, his wand drawn. "Actually…two at a time. If one won't talk, we'll take it out on their family. They'll break…everyone breaks."

xxxXxxx

"I don't know! I don't know!" Molly wailed from the living room and another harsh smack sounded as they struck Arthur across the face hard. Stray books and quills began to tremble and shake as Molly was both bristling with anger and nearly bursting with the pain of watching her family beaten in front of her as she was interrogated for answers she did not have and would not give.

"Harry Potter has stayed here in the past. He was here very recently, wasn't he?" Yaxley growled as cords burst from the tip of his wand and bound Arthur's wrists tightly to the arms of his chair.  
>"Wasn't he?!" He shouted.<p>

No matter what, she could not say anything about Harry. Not a word to indicate they had been in contact with him at all, let alone living in the same house.

"No." She repeated stubbornly and the book on the floor at her feet trembled again with unstable magic and emotions.

"Crucio!"

xxxXxxx

"You're a close friend and confidant of Potter, don't pretend otherwise. Where. Would. He. Go?"

"You'll have to kill me. I don't know where he is." Lupin growled, a low rumble deep in his throat as he pulled and strained against his restraints.

Bill yelped as an invisible hand wrapped around his throat and his breathing was cut off.

"I don't know." Remus spat, his knuckles going white as he looked over at the man struggling desperately for air beside him. The freckles on Bill's face were standing out more and more against his rapidly paling skin and he was nearly turning blue before Alecto Carrow ended the spell and brought her wand down over Remus' face instead. It left a long, thin scratch behind that stung and bit.

"Harry Potter was never here." Lupin barely even flinched at the blow and remained as steady as he could while Bill next to him was hacking and coughing trying to regain his breath.

"Crucio!" The witch snarled and left Remus screaming as she turned back to Bill.

"Unless you want me to track your pretty little bride down and kill her one silky hair at a time, you'll tell me where you last saw Harry Potter."

Bill screwed up his face in a fierce glare and the gruesome scars stretching down his face stood out as much as at the freckles as he set his jaw and shook his head.  
>"In the Daily Prophet, I 'spose."<p>

Whack.

xxxXxxx

"If you touch one hair on my sister's head again I'll-"

"What? Set a dragon on me?" The Death Eater sneered and brought his hand down hard across Charlie's face.

"Maybe." Charlie panted, sweat dripping down his brow as he willingly took the punishment for Tonks and Ginny.

"Crucio!"

He screamed again, writhing in the chair in pain and trying in vain to get away from the torture.

Tonks had her eyes closed and was trying to keep her composure listening to Charlie screaming. When she opened them they were black and angry and she glanced over at Ginny who was staring straight ahead, a tear running silently down her cheek.

The older witch was sure she knew just how Ginny was feeling knowing Harry was somewhere out there and not knowing if they had been found or hurt. It was how she felt listening to them try to beat information out of Remus. Her heart was breaking with worry and when Charlie's screams subsided into whimpers and panting, Tonks willed with all her might to be able to use wandless magic well.

xxxXxxx

"Harry who?"

Whack.

"Harry who?"

Whack.

"Harry who?"

An irritated hiss and another whack.

Fred spat blood onto the floor and looked Rodolphus in the eye again. "Harry, wh-"

"Say it one more time, and your brother loses the other ear."

Fred shut up with a sigh and blinked away the light-headedness he was starting to feel. He was bleeding from a small gash along the top of his head and still trembling from aftershocks of the Cruciatus curse.

In the living room he heard his father scream again and clenched his jaw stubbornly, trying not to show how badly this was affecting him.

Lestrange glowered down at Fred and then turned his attention to George whose bandage was entirely coated in crimson and looked all the more pale for it. Pointing his wand at the side of his head and then moving it down to his chest and back up again, Lestrange reached out and wrenched the twin's head back by his bright red hair.

"Where would Potter go?"

George breathed heavily and swallowed a lump in his throat as he felt the point of the wand at his temple and replied without further hesitation.  
>"Harry who?"<p>

"Crucio!"

And there was the white hot pain again, and George was screaming. As suddenly as it came, it passed and then Fred was screaming instead and thrashing madly in his chair. And that almost hurt more than the torture itself.

"Even if we knew anythin', which we don't…" George panted as soon as his twin's cries had subsided.

"You'd have to kill us before we told you." Fred whimpered, his voice hoarse and dry.

xxxXxxx

**So it's been a while since I dipped my pen into the wonderful world of Potter fanfic and boy am I glad to be back here. I missed these boys! **

**This was originally supposed to be a two-shot, but (as has happened before) it will now have at least three parts and possibly more if I find myself continuing where I planned to stop.**

**I have several new ideas in the works as well so by all means click that lovely little button down there and join team if you would like to read those when they worm their way out!**


	3. The Aftermath

**The Aftermath**

_Well I don't know why I came here tonight,  
>I got the feeling that something ain't right,<br>I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,  
>And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs.<em>

_Clowns to the left of me,  
>Jokers to the right,<br>Here I am, stuck in the middle with you._

**Stuck in the Middle With You- Stealers Wheel**

xxxXxxx

It was hours of torture and fruitless interrogation before finally, with a final blow to Arthur, Yaxley released the bonds holding him to the chair and pushed him back out to the others.

"Constant surveillance on all of 'em." Yaxley growled in frustration and stared at Amycus Carrow who would have a brilliant bruise for a very long time. "And get your face fixed, Carrow."

He turned on his heel and fixed each of the Weasleys and Remus and Tonks in turn with a long, piercing stare as the Carrows threw a collection of wands on the floor.

"We'll be watching you, you can count on that, bloodtraitors."

With a series of pops and swirls of black, they all Disapparated.

xxxXxxx

They were all hurt, no one had escaped unscathed, but they were all alive and relatively safe and nobody had given Harry away. They were all prepared to die for this, though fortunately none had to. It could have gone much worse.

The three women were comparatively unharmed, although Tonks had suffered the Cruciatus curse several times and Ginny's cheek had swollen quite a bit. Charlie was so pale he could barely stand without his legs giving out from the torture. Bill would have a few new scars adorning his face and had been battered quite a bit, however Remus was the worse of the two. There was a thin trail of dried blood running from Fred's temple down to his chin and he was sporting a shiner of a black eye among other bruises, whilst George had lost so much more blood from his ear he was paler than Charlie was and his freckles stood out as much as his hair. But Arthur looked the worst off. He had taken any punishment meant for his wife and far more besides.

"Well that could have been worse…"George said a little hoarsely but as cheerfully as he could possibly manage.

There was a tense, uneasy silence for several long moments before Remus and Tonks threw their arms around each other, both shaking. Molly nearly dissolved into tears and set about examining all her children. Fred and George pulled up chairs and dropped wearily into them while Charlie just slid down on the ground beside Ginny and ran his hands through his hair. Arthur went straight to Bill and pulled his eldest son into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Bill…"

"On your wedding day and all…" Molly sniffled as she gently started to peel the ruined bandages off George's head.

"Yeah, Phlegm must be worried sick." Ginny murmured, swallowing and pushing herself up to gather the wands strewn on the floor.

"Ginny!" Bill snapped before sighing and squeezing his father's shoulder tightly once. "It was bound ta happen right? Sooner or later it was gonna happen."

"Bill's right." Remus spoke up with his arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders and took his wand as Ginny held it out to him. "It would have just happened a little later."

His eyes softened as he looked at the newly married man. Lupin felt sorry for him, Bill had been forced to send his bride away on their wedding day so he could freely stand for Harry and suffer with the rest of them. The werewolf didn't know where Fleur had run to, but he felt certain she was safe wherever Bill had sent her, but that wouldn't have made the separation any easier for the poor man.

"You should go now, Bill." He said, softly but firmly as he met Bill's eyes, trying to tell him that he did understand what he was going through.

Bill nodded, and looked around at the overturned Burrow.  
>"I wanna stay and help fix this up, but-"<p>

"Son, don't you worry about us, we're all okay." Arthur cut him off quickly and smiled brightly despite the situation. "It could have been much worse. You did a very brave thing today. Actually more than one and I don't think I properly got to say yet just how proud I am of you, William."

A smile finally slid back over Bill's lean face and he nodded, tucking his wand up his sleeve securely.

"Thanks, Dad. I gotta get to Fleur."

After taking a few steps back from everyone and smiling reassuringly at both his parents, Bill twirled on his heel and vanished with a pop.

"Charlie, you okay?"

Tonks asked, finally letting go of Remus' hand and kneeling down beside her former classmate with a concerned frown.  
>The man grinned. Despite his appearance, his spirit was as relentlessly upbeat as it usually was.<p>

"I've gotten much worse from Longhorns in Romania." To illustrate the point he pulled up his untucked shirt over his belly, exposing the burns and scars there. "It'd take a lot more than that to bother me."

Tonks shook her head and Molly tutted from where she was examining George.

"You three will be the death of your parents."

George shuddered in his chair as the sodden bandages dropped into a pile on the floor and Molly gasped at the sight. The wound had reopened completely and, while not nearly as bad as when the damage had first been done, George's head was a mess again. Her hands trembled badly as she conjured fresh bandages and tried to rebind it.

"So help me, if they touch my children again…" The end of her sentence was lost as Fred stood up next to her and gently took the bandages from her hands.

"I'll do it, Mum, you sit down."

"Arthur…" Remus said, looking at Mr Weasley pointedly.

The latter nodded and turned toward the smashed kitchen window. Raising his wand, he thought of his own wedding day, and a fondness swelled inside him as he muttered. "Expecto Patronum…"

A strong silver stream poured from the tip of his wand and twisted into the shape of a weasel before its caster.

"Family safe. Do not reply. We are being watched." He said slowly and clearly, and the weasel's mouth moved silently along with him. With a flick of his wand, the patronus turned and dashed out of the window, vanishing in a stream of silver.

"We'll start helping you put things right." Tonks stepped forward with Lupin who looked grim, waving her wand at the shattered window and restoring it.

Molly's eyes softened and she pulled the young woman into a hug. "Thank you, dear. Thank you for staying."

"What else were we gonna do? Leave ya all?"

xxxXxxx

"Would you stop squirmin'? This is hard enough to do without you trying to get away." Fred screwed up his nose as he tried to figure out how the bandage was supposed to go around his brother's head like it had been before. "I don't get how muggles live without magic."

"Ouch! Could you be more careful? That hurts like a-"

"Sorry, I'm trying!"

Molly sighed, and looked sadly at her twins as she sent a stack of newly repaired plates back into their cupboard.  
>"Oh, why did you boys have to antagonise them?"<p>

George bit down on his lip and whimpered a little in pain as Fred pressed too hard on the side of his head. His two-eared counterpart cringed and tried to steady his fingers as he wrapped the bandages around George's head tightly.

"Because," George started, opening one watery eye "-if he was stupid enough to take-"

"-anything from _our _old room-" Fred continued.

"-then he totally had it coming-"

"-and besides-"

"-it's what we do and they won't take that away from us." The twins finished in unison, looking up with identical expressions of pride.

Molly sighed and pursed her lips, lowering her wand and putting her hands on her hips.

"George, he could have killed you!"

George shrugged and tilted his head to the side slightly as Fred pulled the bandage tight and fastened it off. The pressure on the wound was immediately helping and the pain had by now subsided into a sharp throbbing.

"They coulda killed any of us and it'd be dyin' for the right cause. Besides, I'd have gone laughing at least."

"George Fabian Weasley, don't you joke about that to me right now." Molly snapped, her brown eyes flashing. "Will you boys take something seriously for once?"

"Mum, we take plenty of things seriously!" Fred retorted indignantly. "It's just our own kind of serious, you know us."

"Hey, hey, hey…" Arthur reappeared down the stairs. "What is going on?"

"Arthur, your sons need to learn that war is not a prank or a game." Molly snapped, her eyes full of angry tears. Emotions were high everywhere, and everyone's fuses were understandably shorter than usual tonight.

George got to his feet suddenly, knocking Fred's hand off the back of his chair.

"Uh, hello?" He pointed to the side of his head. "I think we noticed. Or did you forget?"

"Don't talk to your mother like that!" Arthur quickly interceded, stepping to his wife's side.

"STOP SHOUTING AT EACH OTHER!"

Everyone suddenly went quiet and all eyes turned toward the door where Charlie and Ginny stood looking bewildered as to the commotion. It was Ginny who had shouted and was now glaring furiously at everyone.  
>"Nobody needs this right now! We can't start bickering with each other when-" She cut herself off just in time. They could already be under surveillance if Voldemort had taken over the Ministry and it was probably not even safe to mention Harry in casual conversation. Let alone now. Everyone would know exactly what she meant anyway.<p>

"Just stop it!" She repeated in a huff and turned on her heel, storming past Charlie back upstairs to keep cleaning.

There was a stunned silence for nearly twenty seconds as everyone just stared at the doorway after Ginny. Charlie stood blinking and then rubbed his ear and whistled awkwardly. "Boy is she loud..."

Arthur let out a tense breath and looked between Molly, and the twins standing side by side at each other's defence.

"Look, we can't have this happening now…I think we all know that." He said diplomatically and ran a hand over his bruised and tired face.

"Fred, George, you don't know what it feels like as a parent to watch your children get hurt, let your mother be, she's worried about all of you…"

The twins deflated just a little and although the identical scowls remained in place, they both directed them at the floor instead.

"Molly…" Arthur said gently, wrapping his arm around her and tenderly rubbing her shoulder. "They're not boys anymore. They've grown up…mostly…and they know war isn't a game. They've fought for it more than once now…"  
>He glanced over at his twins and felt a sudden pang of nostalgia as he looked at them standing there wounded and proud. How he missed the days he felt like he could protect his whole family just by gathering them in his arms, when his children were still small enough and dependant enough to let him.<br>"Let them have their fun while they can still have it. They're not stupid…daring and risky definitely, but not stupid. Now…let's just calm down a bit and get cleaned up before we start hexing each other and making their jobs easier."

He sighed and fixed the twins with one of his rare 'no nonsense' looks as he gave Molly's shoulder another reassuring squeeze and kissed the side of her head tenderly.

xxxXxxx

It was well into the early hours of the morning when everyone slowly began trudging to their rooms to collapse wearily in their beds. The Burrow seemed so much emptier now after having it filled to bursting point until this morning. The Delacours were well and truly gone, Bill and Fleur now had no need to stay there again and Harry, Ron and Hermione were…who knew where.

They were safe enough for now, as long as no one gave anything away where it could be seen or heard. The ghoul had done its job effectively, and they seemed to believe that it was Ron well enough to not have a second look.

How much longer they would be safe for…well that was another question that no one knew the answer to.

George sat shirtless on the foot of his old bed with a towel over his arm and a bowl of water precariously placed beside him on the mattress. With the help of a numbing tonic from his mother to try to keep the peace in the family, he wasn't hurting nearly as much but he was sticky with dried blood and his dress robes were sufficiently ruined. Not that it mattered anyway.

He dipped the end of the towel in the bowel and squeezed out most of the water before beginning to dab and wipe at the blood down his neck. "It took forever to get it outta my hair last time, I'm sure I lost part of my scalp doing it…" He muttered.

"I know, I told Mum she should just cut it all off but then you'd look terrible and be a bad reflection on me." Fred smirked from across the room where he lay flat on his back in his pyjamas.

"By the way…" George looked up and made a face at his twin. "Nursing? Not a good career for you, just in case."

"Hey, I don't think I did it too bad, it's still on isn't it?"

George chuckled a little, dipping the towel back in the bowl and squeezing out a stream of reddened water.

"I wonder if he'll ever get that bruise off…" George mused after several minutes of trying to clean himself up in silence.

"Unless he nicked some of the cream along with the telescope, he won't have much fun trying." Fred smirked and started to draw shapes in the air idly with his wand. Suddenly he sat upright and swung his legs onto the floor.

"…I'm pretty sure neither of us got one of those French girls."

"Hey, at least _I _got a dance." George defended indignantly and a silence fell between the twins for three long seconds before identical grins broke out over their faces and as one they dissolved into laughter.

What was so funny wasn't always very clear with Fred and George and often, they didn't even need a real reason to laugh. But at least someone in the house had to see some humour in the situation, some light that made it that much easier to deal with.

Within a few seconds George had knocked the bowl to the floor and Fred was laughing so hard for no real reason that he slid off the bed with tears in his eyes and landed with a thud on the floor.  
>George lifted his gaze to the ceiling, where Ginny's room was right above theirs and wasn't surprised to hear her stamping on the floor to tell them to be quiet. That only set him off more and he dissolved into a fresh fit of laughter, dropping his bloody, damp towel onto the floor next to the forgotten bowl.<p>

Their fit only ended when both twins were gasping for breath to calm themselves down and neither could think of why they were laughing in the first place.

"I can't wait to go back to the flat…" George sighed, his chest heaving as he regained his breath and the last few snickers dissolved. "No one else to wake up there."

"I-I know…" Fred wiped a tear of mirth from his eye and leaned his ginger head back against his bed from his new position leaning against it. Regaining control of himself, the older twin's grin slowly shrunk back and he stifled a yawn behind his hand as he looked over at George.

"Don't look now, Lugless, but you're still a mess."

George smiled and reached for his wand. He gave it a flick and the bowl and towel sprung back up to his side. "Aguamenti…" With the word, a jet of water flowed from his wand and the bowl refilled.

"You're not exactly unscathed yourself."

"What was that you said tonight?" Fred paused and pretended to think. "War wounds, right? What's the fun in getting rid of them straight away?"

"Double standards!"

"We're twins." Fred smirked. "Double is what we do best."

Almost another twenty minutes passed in silence as George cleaned up what he could and by the time he extinguished the light in the room and lay back in his bed, Fred was snoring softly across the room on top of his blankets.

xxxXxxx

Weeks went by that soon turned into months, and Diagon Alley grew darker every day. There were less of the general magical community mulling around and more Snatchers and Death Eaters raiding shops and paying house calls every day. Half of the Alley had closed down and it would only be a matter of time before the Weasleys would be forced to make themselves very scarce.

Each day Bill would look over his shoulder as he entered Gringotts and every day there would be a different witch or wizard dressed all in black robes watching him from across the street.

Every day, Arthur found himself followed around the Ministry and could not so much as turn his head or lift a quill without feeling at least three pairs of eyes on him.

Fleur spent much of her days at the Burrow with Molly for a time to keep her mother-in-law company and not a day could go by at the family home when they did not feel like the very walls had eyes.

Even Percy, though continuing to work for the Ministry, still could not look his father in the eye if they happened to pass and knew he too was being watched keenly. Although unaware of anything that had transpired with his family in recent months, and of Harry, Ron and Hermione's travels, he knew it was all so very wrong. And he had sense enough to know that the Weasley family was known throughout the corrupt wizarding world, as the biggest bloodtraitors around and a waste of pureblood.

Fred and George showed no fear and refused to close up shop, though business had diminished almost entirely. They could not leave the building without being followed and after multiple acts of vandalism, they raised protective enchantments all around the shop.

Until April.


	4. The Evasion

**The Evasion**

_When enemies are at your door,  
>I'll carry you away from war,<br>If you need help, if you need help,_

_Your hope dangling by a string,  
>I'll share in your suffering,<br>To make you well, to make you well,_

**Gone, Gone, Gone- Phillip Phillips**

Bill appeared with a pop on the ground floor of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It was barely seven in the morning but he wasn't taking any risks of getting there too late.

"George! Fred!" He called out, starting to climb the many flights of stairs noisily, taking the steps two at a time. The moment Ron had shown back up at Shell Cottage with Harry and Hermione, and had filled Bill and Fleur in on the events at Malfoy Manor, Bill knew without a doubt the Weasleys could no longer stay put.

He had come straight from the Burrow where he had caught his father before he could go to work, filling him in enough to know that they would have moved up a great deal on the Undesirables list, and that the Death Eaters knew Ron was with Harry.

"Fred and George, would you come out?!" He shouted again as he paused at the foot of the final flight of stairs that led up to the small landing outside the flat the twins lived in.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on…" Fred's voice sounded from above and Bill looked straight up to see Fred leaning over the railing tousle haired and still in his pyjamas.

"What's your problem?" The younger brother yawned as Bill trotted up to his side and paused to catch his breath.

After gathering himself, Bill ran a hand through his long hair and looked Fred seriously in the eye.  
>"Tell George you needa get your things together. They know."<p>

"Know what?" Fred rubbed the sleep from his left eye and arched a ginger eyebrow at his brother.

"That Ron's with him…they know we're actively supportin' Harry Potter and that's all the reason they need not to bide their time anymore." Bill explained briefly. "They'll be coming after everyone soon."

Fred suddenly looked much more alert, and much more serious than usual and his gaze went immediately to the front windows for a few seconds. The time was finally coming. He was almost surprised the Weasleys had gone this long without any more attacks.  
>"Right. I'll tell him…this means…"<p>

"Yeah…you know where to go." Bill nodded. "When it's time…and Fred…don't you two go cutting it as fine as you tend to."

xxxXxxx

George grunted and rolled over on his bed, hiding his face under the blankets and trying to get just another ten minutes of sleep as Fred stumbled out of the room.

It felt like he had just closed his eyes when suddenly the blankets were pulled from him and dumped unceremoniously with a soft rustle in a pile on the floor as Fred's voice woke him again.  
>"George, come on, you needa get up."<p>

"I do not. It's still early…" George grumbled without opening his eyes and rolled onto his right side.

"Yeah you do. We might not have much time."

George would have resisted and complained more, and was on the verge of doing so when something in Fred's tone made him open his eyes. Fred sounded too serious this morning, and too alert. Whoever had been shouting and clattering up the stairs to see them must have had something important to say. Suddenly, he sat upright faster than Fred could blink.

"Was that Dad?"

Satisfied that George would be properly awake very soon, Fred shook his head and started to dress.  
>"It was Bill. He says we better get up and packed…could have to leave any time because-"<p>

"-They know about Ron." George joined in and they finished in unison. It worked, and George was wide awake and staring to get dressed in a matter of seconds.

xxxXxxx

The twins stopped dead in their tracks on the stairs as an unnatural cold began to fill the shop and both were filled with a sense of deep dread as their hands tightened on their wands and their blood seemed to run cold in their veins.  
>Something was coming.<p>

They exchanged a look, hoisted their bags higher on their shoulders, turned on their heels…and nearly fell down the stairs.

"What the-"

"Anti-Disapparition Jinx…" Fred groaned, "They're not as stupid as they look."

Without warning, the windows burst in showers of glass and three black clad figures stormed into the shop wands at the ready and Bellatrix Lestrange cackling wildly at the head. A shelf of Trick Wands collapsed, sending rubber chickens everywhere as they spread out around the ground floor.

"Come on out, little boys!" Lestrange laughed delightedly as she looked up at the several flights of stairs where the twins had stood only moments before. "Come and say hello!"

Two floors above them, Fred and George stood opposite each other, concealed behind parallel shelves and wands drawn and ready as they heard the Death Eaters begin to storm the shop.  
>George shot Fred a look from his position and held a finger to his lips as he very slowly peered out around the corner and through the railings down at the witch and wizards.<br>With a well-aimed spell, he made four nose-biting teacups leap from their boxes and rain down on the head of the Death Eater right below.

He howled in pain as they starting snapping at every part of his face they could reach and Lestrange whirled around on her tall heels at the commotion, looking around for the culprits with a snarl.

Blasting away the novelty cups and shattering them into pieces, Avery cursed and shot a jinx in entirely the wrong direction as he started to storm up the stairs.

"Wait!" Bellatrix snapped and then smirked and giggled. "You know how we'll find them."

Fred, who had been weighing up the chances of making it safely out the door, where they could Apparate away, by jumping down and making a run for it, suddenly felt the air grow even colder. He looked over at George who was peering out from his vantage point again and looked almost pained as he stared out.

All of a sudden there was a loud sweeping sound, like the wings of a Thestral as it took flight, and a huge hooded shape soared through the shattered glass. George saw it and felt the side of his head start to sting as he swallowed a lump of nervousness. The air was filled with the heavy rattling sounds of the Dementor breathing and the younger twin closed his eyes against the throbbing in his head and barely stifled a groan which was not missed by his twin.

His wound had been caused by dark magic, and the presence of so much evil and decay that the creature was infecting the air with, seemed to aggravate the injury.

The Death Eaters had gone still down below, just waiting for the Dementor to sniff them out so they could seize them or kill them themselves.

Fred didn't need to be able to see it or to read George's lips as he mouthed the word "Dementor" to know exactly what was in the shop. His teeth were nearly chattering he was so cold and the air itself was heavy with dread. He clutched his wand tighter and kept a wary eye out as he heard the rasping breaths of the foul creature growing closer.

Then all of a sudden the nine foot tall, hooded figure appeared behind him, it's gnarled and rotting hands reaching out for Fred. Before Fred could so much as raise his wand to cast a Patronus, it had swooped down on him and begun to feed.

Everything was being drained from him, any hope that they would make it out and to Auntie Muriel's safely was pulled away in favour of despair and resignation. Any happiness and good memories…and there were sure a lot of those, felt like they were being ripped from him forever. Fred Weasley was a feast for any Dementor.

There was a gleeful laugh from below and a triumphant, "Gotcha!" carried up two flights of stairs to George who had still been peering down at the Death Eaters and trying to push out the pain in his head.  
>He whipped around suddenly and, quicker than a Firebolt, jumped to his feet, aimed his wand and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"<p>

A stream of silver erupted from his wand and formed itself into George's corporeal Patronus. The silver meerkat, though smaller in size than Fred's fox or Ginny's very impressive horse, was more than a match for a single Dementor and shot toward its target immediately.

The Dementor let out a shriek as the white magic barrelled into it with a burst of light, and shot back from Fred who gasped loudly as he was freed. Taking a few moments to steady himself and regain his breath, Fred looked wide eyed at George whose Patronus was soundly chasing off the dark creature.

"Duck!" He shouted, and George ducked as a curse flew over his head.

"Luck's run out, Freddie and Georgie!" Bellatrix screeched over the sounds of shattering glass and splintering wood, deflecting a stunning spell that George sent her way. "'Cause we'll win! We'll win!"

Bottles of love potion and crates of Skiving Snackboxes rained down from their places as the twins began a mad dash through the shop. Each time they got closer to the stairs, a Death Eater would appear in front of them, they would turn the other way and their path would be blocked by another.

They were backed against the railing of the third floor, and seeming for all the world stuck between a rock and a hard place with Bellatrix pointing a wand at George's chest and the two men coming up the stairs behind them.

"Aw…no more fun…it's time there were two less itty, bitty, bloodtraitors in the world." The witch giggled and jabbed Fred hard in the chest. "Say bye."

"…Okay…" Fred rasped and shot George a look from the corner of his eye that made the smile vanish from Bellatrix's face. "Bye!"

And before Lestrange could snap a killing curse, Fred had thrown the clump of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from his sleeve and plunged the whole store into blackness.

"Get them!" Bellatrix screeched as she grabbed madly in front of her and only brushed the corner of a jacket as the twins scrambled for the stairs.

They may have been outnumbered, and they may have been outjinxed, but the element of surprise was a huge point in Fred and George's favour. They knew the shop as well or better than they knew the Burrow and every secret passage in and out of Hogwarts and climbed up onto the banisters with no difficultly.

Frustrated cries of "Lumos!" sounded repeatedly in vain through the blackness and suddenly there were two loud thuds on the stairs as the twins kicked out from the banisters and sent the Death Eaters falling head over heels down the rest of the flight of stairs.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted angrily, cursing in the direction the thuds had come in. George felt the spell hit just behind his ankle but didn't stop until Fred, half a step ahead of him, had wrenched open the door and they stumbled out into the light.

The twins didn't even pause to see if each other was alright, that just had to wait a few seconds. With barely a glance at each other, they spun on their heels and, to their immense relief, managed to Apparate away.

xxxXxxx

"They left it to the last possible minute again didn't they?" Molly sighed, staring impatiently out the window of Great Aunt Muriel's living room. Her hands hadn't stopped wringing in her lap, twisting and pulling at the hem of her cardigan as they waited for Fred and George.

"Mum…they'll be coming. When are Fred and George ever on time for anything?" Ginny sighed, sitting down on the little window seat and squeezing her mother's hands gently. "It probably just means they haven't needed to run yet, which is good right?"

Molly smiled a tense smile and stilled her fidgeting hands to give her daughter's a squeeze. It had just been lucky Ginny had come home for Easter…if she was still at Hogwarts…there was no telling what they would have done to her.  
>"Yes, dear…I suppose you're right…that must be it."<p>

"I told them not to cut it too fine. Diagon Alley is the first place they'll have covered." Bill shook his head at the door from where he stood with his father across the room. He impatiently blew back a long strand of red hair from his eyes and tucked his hands in his pockets.

Fleur had remained at home, tending to the goblin and the frail Ollivander. It frustrated Bill to no end having to keep Harry, Ron and Hermione a secret from the rest of the family, but they couldn't know they were at Shell Cottage or they'd insist on seeing them. Ron had made it very clear that secrecy was vital.

"If the twins don't get here soon, I'll go and get them myself." Arthur had just made up his mind when Ginny out called from the window,

"See? I told you they'd be here."

Sure enough, Fred and George were striding up the little path, both looking dishevelled like they had left in a hurry and clapping each other on the back.

Arthur flicked his wand at the door and it unlocked itself and swung inwards to admit them. George stepped in first, ducking his head slightly to avoid knocking it on the low doorframe and Fred followed suit.

"Well…" George clapped his hands and ran a hand over his messy hair to flatten it a little. "Fancy seein' you all here…"

"You should have been here much earlier, boys, you had us starting to worry." Molly tutted and stood up from her seat as the door swung closed and the locks all fastened again.

"Well we went to leave..."

"But we couldn't Disapparate, they jinxed the place…"

"…and got there just before we could leave." Fred finished, sinking down onto the almost too soft sofa that was covered in a hideous paisley fabric.

Molly gasped and Bill and Arthur furrowed their eyebrows and pressed their lips into lines, looking much the same as each other as they did so.

"Oh we're fine. See, we're not hurt…" George assured them quickly and flashed a grin "They should have known better than to come after us in our own territory."

"Fred, you're really pale." Ginny piped up, pulling her long hair over one shoulder and placing her hands on her hips. "Are you sure nothing happened?"

"Oh that was just a Dementor." Fred scoffed and waved it off like it happened every day. "I'm fine. A little deflated, but I'm fine."

"Oh, you two have so much Prewett in you…I've said it before and I'll say it again. You have your uncles' bravado." Molly pursed her lips and turned her son's face to the side, giving him a thorough inspection to be sure there was nothing they were being tough and hiding from her.

"Better bravado than cowardice." Bill said before George could say the same thing and smirked a little at his brothers. He had completely expected them to come at the last minute, despite his warning.

"Well…" Arthur interrupted, clearing his throat and running a hand over his balding head. "It was only a matter of time, Weasleys. We all knew it was coming." He looked around at his family and sighed. "Important thing is we're all here, and we're all safe."

"Most of us." Ginny corrected and exchanged a glance with George.

"Well, Charlie's pretty away from the worst of it in Romania for now. And you know what I meant by everyone, Ginny."

"Bill, are you sure you and Fleur are alright by yourselves?"

"I'm Secret Keeper, Mum, for both safe houses." Bill reminded her and pulled his mother into a reassuring hug, grinning over her head at his siblings. "We're perfectly safe….and now that I know everyone else is safe, I'd better get back."

Bill left with a pop, leaving the other five in the living room of Great-Aunt Muriel's who not a second later, stuck her head into the room.

"What in Merlin's name is all that racket, Molly?" Her sharp, but old, eyes alighted on Fred and George and she clucked her tongue and snapped sharply. "Oh and they've got here now. I'll gladly open my home to family in need…" She pointed a gnarled finger at the twins and scowled. "...but I'll not have these two blowing things up and shouting all day!"

Fred and George both stuck out their tongues and pulled faces at her back as she disappeared into the kitchen a moment later, earning them a sharp reprimand and a light whack over their heads from their mother. Ginny giggled and Arthur stifled a smile as the witch scolded the twins.  
>"She's taking us in, you two…" She hissed, "I don't want any of you upsetting her. I know it can be…trying… but, for once, would you please be on your best behaviour?"<p>

George looked down at Fred and then at his mother with the most innocent expression he could conjure. "We'll _try_."

Suddenly, Muriel reappeared, her bones seeming to creak in the otherwise silent room as she bustled over to them and held out a tartan tin of chocolate cauldrons to Fred.  
>"You look like you've been at the end of a Dementor, boy. Eat."<p>

It was less of an offer or a suggestion, than it was an order. Fred looked up and blinked in surprise. He was quite taken aback by this sudden show of concern, if you could call it that, and just looked at her for a few seconds before shrugging and reaching into the tin. He took one, and then a second when Auntie Muriel pierced him with her bird like stare. Perhaps being attacked by a Dementor had its perks after all.

Thinking she was offering them to everyone, George reached to take one.

"Ouch!" There was a harsh sounding slap and he yelped and pulled his hand back quickly, muttering under his breath.

"Manners!" Muriel snapped, glaring at George and offering the tin to Ginny, Molly and Arthur, of whom the latter two politely refused. She spitefully bypassed George and strode back into the kitchen.

"Old ba-"

"George…" Molly warned, raising a finger at him and he quietened, crossing his arms over his chest and sinking onto the arm of the sofa.

The chocolate helped Fred immediately. The encounter with the Dementor had left him deflated, pale and a little sullen. As his spirits perked back up, colour came back to his cheeks and he made a point of waving the second in George's face who just stuck out his tongue at his brother.

"Maybe staying here isn't so bad, don'tcha think, Georgie?" He taunted, popping the second chocolate cauldron into his mouth with a slightly smug look.


	5. The Mask

**The Mask**

_Well I believe it all is coming to an end,  
>Oh well, I guess we're gonna pretend,<br>Let's see how far we've come,  
>Let's see how far we've come,<em>

_I think it turned ten o'clock but I don't really know,  
>And I can't remember caring for an hour or so,<br>Started crying and I couldn't stop myself,  
>I started running but there's nowhere to run to.<em>

**How Far We've Come- Matchbox 20**

"…What did it feel like?"

Fred looked up as he reached around in his rucksack for pyjamas. Everyone had been on edge all evening, trying not to let doubts arise about the protective enchantments and their safety here. Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to try and distract their parents by maintaining a thoroughly useless and random conversation on everything from Quidditch to bringing Snape to justice by pouring a vat of shampoo on his head.

George was sitting cross legged on his bed in Muriel's back room in his matching plaid red pyjama pants and simple white undershirt turning his wand over in his fingers and looking at his twin curiously as he waited for him to answer the question.

Fred shrugged and tossed his rucksack onto the floor, nudging it under the bed with his foot as he started to change.

"The Dementor? Weird…the awful kind of weird." He sat down on the end of his bed and shuddered involuntarily as the memory. "It was like…everything good was being literally sucked out. It fills your head with horrible things, like what would happen if we couldn't get away from the shop, or what if Vo-" Fred cut himself off and bit his tongue before he could let it slip. The name was taboo now. "-if You-Know-Who won."

George frowned a little and leaned over to set his wand down beside his pillow before straightening up and swinging his legs onto the floor. He leaned forward with elbows on his knees and rubbed his hands together.

Fred continued. "But it wasn't just what ifs. Brought back all the darkest memories it could find."

"Like what? What did you remember?"

Fred looked up at his twin with an odd, twisted expression like he didn't really want to go into detail. But they both knew he was going to anyway.

"Uh…" He reached up and rubbed the back of his ginger head. "Mad-Eye, Dumbledore's funeral…Percy running out on us…when Dad got attacked by that ruddy snake." He shrugged his shoulders and looked away. "That's all I remember."

"No it's not." George said quickly, his lip twitching knowingly. "I know you a hundred times better than to believe that."

"Well then, clearly you know I don't wanna talk about it anymore." Fred shot his twin a look and lay back on his bed, his long legs just hanging off the end.

George smirked slightly and arched his eyebrow at his brother before shrugging. "Okay."

Fred frowned at the ceiling and turned his head, confused. "You're not even gonna argue?"

"Nope. If you don't wanna tell me, then don't tell me. I'm not pushin'."

Fred wasn't buying that. He was more than a little suspicious of what George was up to. Was this reverse psychology? He was pretty sure that's what George was doing. Or he simply knew Fred better than Fred knew himself and that he would probably tell him everything very soon anyway of his own accord. It was probably that, Fred decided.  
>Even so, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at George and then without warning, reached under his head, grabbed his pillow and threw it across the small room at George.<p>

His brother hadn't been expecting that and it hit him squarely in the face, much to Fred's satisfaction. The force was enough to make George sway back from the edge of the bed and he looked shocked at Fred for a whole two seconds before a grin broke out over his face and he took up the challenge.

Fred rolled off the other side of the bed in a hurry to avoid George's pillow, which struck the corner of an old trunk behind Fred's bed with such force that it burst with a dull thump in an explosion of feathers. Both men looked in shock as the feathers started float and dance around the room and then exchanged startled looks with one another before both sets of bright blue eyes landed on the one remaining pillow on the floor. The last weapon at their disposal.

Fred looked at George who was poised to pounce on the pillow, and George looked at Fred who was preparing to spring forward.

They leapt at once, Fred performing a rather impressive leap right over his bed and landing on his elbows with a triumphant whoop as he got his hands on the pillow. Unfortunately for him, George was just as quick to get a grasp on it and what had started as a joking pillow fight, had become a war as the twins wrestled for control.

"Give up yet?" George ground out through his teeth as he managed to shoulder off one of Fred's arms. The latter just laughed and was about to throw back a witty retort when there was thudding down the hall and the door was wrenched open.

In the doorway stood a red faced Muriel, and behind her, a wide-eyed Arthur, both in pyjamas and dressing gowns.

"What in the world are you doing, boys?!"

Fred and George froze, Fred had his free arm raised like he had been about to lock it around George's head to throw him off and George had thrown his full weight on top of the pillow and Fred's other hand, trapping it from his brother's reach.

They flashed innocent, toothy smiles and let each other go.

"He started it." They accused in unison, pointing at the other and then exchanging looks.

"Did not!"

"I don't care who started it!" Muriel screeched, her old eyes flashed daggers at the twins and she raised a warning finger. "You trouble makers will be sleeping outside if you keep knocking around my house like you own it."

"Auntie Muriel, don't you think that's a little…harsh?" Arthur softened, flicking his eyes at his sons, his lip twitching as he very obviously tried to hide a smile. "Boys will be boys."

"They shouldn't still be _boys_, Arthur." Muriel snapped, turning her piercing stare on him "They should well and truly be men by now and not behaving like Hippogriffs." She raised a gnarled old finger and jabbed Arthur in the chest. "A tighter leash is needed, Arthur! Like I always told you."

"We're not dogs." Fred said indignantly.

"You might as well be." With that, she started grumbling obscenities highly unheard of in a woman of her age, and retreated down the hall, leaving Arthur shaking his head in the doorway.

"Fred. George…" He took a moment to regain his composure and cleared his throat, trying his hardest to be firmer than he wanted to be. "That's enough. It's late and everyone else is trying to get some sleep. Would it really kill you to do the same?"

"Probably not…but why take the risk?" George grinned and then dutifully looked away when he couldn't find the amusement he'd been searching for in their father's eyes.

"You heard your mother today…do at least _try _to behave."

With a look at both his sons, he turned and closed the door behind him.

Waiting until they heard the creak and click of another door closing down the hall, the twins exchanged a look and tried to hide their snickering.

"It's gonna be fun driving the old bat up the wall." Fred ran a hand through his hair and looked around at the remnants of what had once been a whole pillow. "All the fun we'll get here anyway."  
>He retrieved his wand from the pocket of his rucksack and waved it over the mess of feathers and fabric. The feathers regathered themselves, and within moments, the pillow had stitched itself back together.<p>

George sighed and tossed his pillow back on his bed, dropping back onto it with the rusty creaking of old springs.

Another flick, and Fred extinguished the light. There was more squeaking and the rustle of blankets before Fred was under the covers with his hands tucked under his head staring up at the moonlight that flowed through the window and bathed the middle of the room in blue light.

xxxXxxx

George couldn't remember being tired enough to fall asleep, so it was a surprise to him when he stirred and nearly hit his head on the wall. The rustling of blankets from his brother's bed across the room was loud in the otherwise quiet room, and at first he just rolled over himself and closed his eyes again.

But suddenly he realised that it hadn't just been the rustling of blankets that had woken him, no, he had had twenty years of sleeping in the same room as his twin to get used to that. There was another noise that he was not accustomed to hearing come from Fred. It was a whimper, small and frightened, that made George turn over and look over his shoulder in confusion.

"Fred?" He hissed, but Fred didn't respond. He was definitely still asleep.

Fred seemed to jerk in his bed and was stirring restlessly. Every few seconds, he would whimper again and George was suddenly wide awake. He sat up, tossed the blankets off himself and swung his feet to the floor.

"Fred?" He tried again, louder, and when he didn't get any response again, George crossed the room and shook his twin's shoulder.

"Hey, wake up…Fred?"

Fred jerked again and inhaled sharply as his eyes snapped open and he awoke. He looked dazed and confused as he looked up at George who was staring down at him wide eyed and concerned.

"W-what are you-"

"Are you okay?" George asked, moving his hand from his brother's shoulder and sitting on the edge of the bed as Fred pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Were you having a nightmare? You sounded scared, I thought I better wake you up."

Grunting, and rubbing his face, Fred looked away from George and shook his head. "I wasn't scared." He denied, thoroughly unconvincingly and George only responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, you can tell me that rubbish but it's not true."

"Shut up." Fred grumbled and sat up against the wall. "I think it's just an after effect."

His brother nodded and moved back to sit on his own bed, he reached over and checked the watch he had been given on their seventeenth birthday. It was almost three in the morning but Fred didn't look like he was going be getting back to sleep right away. His eyes were wide and looked slightly red, he had definitely had a nightmare. Something that was very rare for either of the twins.

It was one of the very few times Fred ever looked really vulnerable. The time when the mask he had put on earlier came right off.

"Dement-" George tried and failed to stifle a yawn "-ors, would probably do that to ya. You wanna tell me or should I just go back to sleep?"

Fred fiddled with the blankets over his legs and wiped a hand over his eyes. "It was just the stuff it reminded me of."

"…I'm pretty sure you weren't so broken up over Percy running out that you started sniffling."

"Not _that_ stuff, Lugless." Fred shot George a half-hearted glare and looked up at the ceiling. "The other stuff."

George's first hint was the way Fred had glanced at him when he woke up, it was the same way he'd looked when George came too after losing his ear. His second hint, had been Fred calling him 'Lugless' again. He knew exactly what the Dementor had made Fred think about.

"Oh _that_ stuff." He repeated, nodding his understanding and letting out a small chuckle. Reaching up, George ran a hand over the left side of his head. "Yeah, I figured that's what you weren't saying before."

"It's not just your ear, George. It could have easily been your life. You looked _dead_, and that's what it made me remember. The worst that I had ever felt was thinking for a few horrible minutes, that I'd lost my twin brother."

They had talked about this before, but not quite the same. Fred had never said the rest of it aloud before, he had never admitted, although George had suspected because he knew how he would feel himself, that it was the worst he'd ever felt.

"That's why I was scared, okay? That's what…" Fred shrugged his shoulders and hugged his arms insecurely. "…_that_ was." He finished, meaning the horrible dream that George had roused him from. "I think that's why it affected me so badly. Merlin, I hate to think of what they did to Harry and Sirius. They'd have had it much worse than us."

The side of George's head was beginning to tingle again, and he brushed his fingers lightly around the peculiar hole in his head behind his hair. It had been eight months since it happened and he was finally starting to get used to seeming "lopsided", as Auntie Muriel said, when he looked in the mirror. But that didn't make it any less bizarre to touch.

"Do you remember the only time we've seen Mum completely lose it?" Fred asked suddenly and it took George by surprise. "I mean, _really _upset, not just disappointed or mad at us."

"Do you mean anytime anyone brings up Percy?"

Fred shook his head. "Not what I was thinking. I can't believe I remember it, it was so long ago." He lifted his head and brought his legs up to his chest so he could wrap his arms around them and rest his chin on his knees. "I think the Dementor brought it back, but I mean when Mum and Dad heard about her brothers' murders."

George blinked a few times and frowned as he strained to remember it. Now that he thought of it, it was hard to forget how horrible it had been as young children to see their mother so distraught. Vague, though his memory of the event was, it seemed Fred remembered it well now.

"We would have been…" George paused to think. "…Three? I can't believe you remember that."

"Neither can I." Fred shrugged. "She wouldn't let any of us kids out of her sight for days."

xxxXxxx

"_Go away!" Five year old Percy was shouting at the twins, who were following him around the house, popping out from random places. Dressed identically, as they always were, they would dissolve into giggles every time they made their big brother jump. Which meant a very large part of the morning was spent in fits of laughter._

_It was a dreary, wet, Sunday, and after trudging mud all over their mother's clean floors, Charlie was sulking in an armchair. Ten year old Bill was lying on his back on the floor watching one year old Ron totter around on unsteady legs and throwing out a hand to catch him before he could wobble right into the edge of the table he was at head height with. The twins had just appeared over Percy's shoulder, literally hanging themselves over the edge of the couch to find where Percy had been curled up trying to hide from them. _

"_What're you doing?" Fred piped up as George somersaulted over the back of the couch and landed with a plop beside their brother._

"_Yeah, we wanna play too!" George added, pulling at Percy who whined and was starting to pout. _

"_Go away or I'll tell Mummy!" He shrieked, squirming away from his little brothers and starting to run toward the kitchen._

_He hurtled face first into their mother's apron as she appeared with her scolding face on. Having six boys all cooped up inside on a day like today, was not her idea of a relaxing Sunday. Percy, always the little mummy's boy, was nearly in sulky tears again. She sighed. He was really starting to get too old for this._

"_Fred and George won't go away." He whined, pointing to the twins who were scrambling off the couch and setting their sights on Bill._

_There were two loud, gleeful shrieks and then a disgruntled "oof" as they leaped on their oldest brother._

_Sensing his mother's arrival, little Ron appeared from under the table and ran full speed toward her, swaying from side to side. He was more than a little clingy, as all her sons had been at that age, and wouldn't pay any attention to anyone else when Mummy was in the room._

"_They're being meeeannn." Percy whined and between her tugging at his hand and Ronald suddenly latching himself onto her leg, Molly was already getting another headache._

"_Alright!" She sighed and bent to pick up the baby who cooed happily and starting patting at her face. _

"_Percy, that's enough, I can see what they're doing. You're getting too old now to come and tell on them, they're only little." Percy pouted and pulled a face much like Charlie's was before he ran off to play by himself in the corner of the sitting room._

"_Mum, can't I go out?" Bill called from the floor, shoving the twins off him who rolled onto the floor in fits of giggles, until George bumped his head and they both started crying._

"_It's terribly wet, Bill, I'll not have any of you getting sick today! Oh… where is your father when we need him…"_

"_Be quiet!" Charlie snapped from his chair at the twins who were sobbing tearfully…he only succeeded in making them cry louder._

_Molly closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath. How she was managing to juggle all these boys at once was beyond her. But what were mothers for? She was disciplinarian, comforter, provider, role model and rule imposer all at once for her children and she loved them all dearly. But they were such a handful today._

_Moving Ron to her hip she hurried over to the twins who turned large, tearful blue eyes up at her and ran to climb into her lap as she sunk down to the floor._

"_You're alright Fre-Geo-Fred…" She shushed, kissing the twin who had bumped his head tenderly when he responded through sniffles._

"_George…"_

_Once they had quietened and let her go, she got to her feet and looked pointedly at her two oldest sons. "Your uncles told me they would be here to see you today so you can count on them to give you something to do."_

_Charlie seemed to forget his sulk completely and Bill sat up on the floor, both their eyes lit up._ _A visit from Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon livened up any dull day. Everyone loved the Prewett brothers, they were favourites with all the Weasley sons. The twins loved them because, like themselves, their uncles looked the same as each other and they found it hilarious. Bill and Charlie thought they were grand fun, sometimes when Mum wasn't around, Uncle Fabian would let Bill have a go on his broom under careful supervision. Percy loved the attention that Uncle Gideon gave him, that he felt like he missed out on being right in the middle sometimes._

"_Arthur!" Molly called up the stairs as she pushed herself up to her feet and aloud crash of thunder sent Percy tearing back across the room and hiding against her legs. "Arthur, your boys could really use something to do down here."_

"_Coming, coming…" There was a clatter of footsteps on the stairs and Arthur Weasley appeared. As he crossed the room he ruffled Charlie's hair and held out his hands to take the baby to give his wife a break._

_She handed him over willingly and Ron fussed for a moment before he figured out it was his daddy holding him and that was almost as good as Mummy. Just as Molly turned to go back into the kitchen, there was a loud knocking at the door. Bill sprung up, eager to greet his uncles at the door, and for something to do, and ran to open it before his mother could tell him otherwise._

"_Unc-" The ten year old cut himself off short and stared up as he opened the front door. "Oh…hi?"_

_It wasn't Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian after all. There were two men standing in the doorway, both completely dry despite the rain. The first man was tall and wearing spectacles and long robes of deep crimson. A long white beard adorned his face and he had a warm, kindly expression as he looked down at Bill.  
>The second man looked far stranger than anyone Bill had ever met. He wore a long brown traveling cloak over his robes and was shorter and far broader than the first man. He had thick brown hair that was going grey in places, and had a grim expression. But the strangest thing by far was the electric blue eye that whizzed around crazily in its socket. Bill couldn't look away for several whole seconds. The first wizard, Bill recognised immediately as being Albus Dumbledore, everyone knew who he was after all. Why were they here?<em>

"_Ah, you must be young William…" Dumbledore smiled warmly and held out a hand to the boy who stared at it and then drew himself up as tall as he could. It wasn't every day that Albus Dumbledore came to your house after all. _

"_Bill, who is-oh!" Molly gasped as she bustled over, wondering what was taking her son so long. "Oh, Professor…what a surprise this is, you must excuse me, we weren't expecting-"_

_The second wizard cleared his throat and pressed his thin lips into a line. "Not to worry, Mrs Weasley, we'd like to have a word with you and your husband." His voice sounded more like a growl and Bill kept a wary eye on him. He wasn't sure he much liked this man._

"_What is it?" Molly asked quickly, her hand resting lightly on her son's shoulder. "I mean, it's not very often we get visits from Aurors and the Headmaster…"_

_Arthur suddenly appeared over her shoulder and held out a hand in welcoming to the two wizards. Something was wrong, he could see it in their eyes. _

"_Won't you come in? We can all talk in the kitchen…"_

_Molly ushered Bill away who went reluctantly back into the sitting room._

_The kitchen door swung closed and immediately, Bill and Charlie exchanged looks and crept over the door. Young Fred and George looked at each other and followed their big brothers immediately, curiosity overcoming them. Not to be left out, Percy followed suit and soon the five brothers were all climbing over each other trying to peek through the crack in the door or press their ears to the wood._

"_Sh!" Charlie held a finger to his lips and clapped a hand over Fred's mouth who was giggling to himself. "Go away or be quiet!" He hissed._

"_I'm afraid we have some very bad news for your family, Mrs. Weasley…" Came the hushed, soft tones of Dumbledore from the kitchen._

"_I can't hear…" Percy whined, trying to squeeze under Charlie's arm. _

"_Shh!" Bill hushed him and pressed his ear to the small opening. "Let me hear and I might tell you."_

_Their mother's voice was a good deal louder than Dumbledore, and all the brothers heard it clearly from the other side of the door. "…what is it? Something's happened?"_

"_Why does Mum sound funny?"_

"_Shut up." Bill hissed again, and Percy forgot his troubles trying to hear and stared wide eyed at his brother. _

"_You're not supposed to say that, I'll tell Mummy!"_

_Three year old Fred and George were far from shushed. They exchanged wide grins and mimicked Bill in unison. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up."_

_Bill was sufficiently distracted. He would be in big trouble for teaching that to them. Fred and George were like living with two parrots who jumped on you.  
>"No, no, no…don't you say that! Dad won't like you saying that, you'll be in big trouble."<em>

"_I think you should get rid of our little audience outside." Came the loud growl of the wizard with the strange eye, clearly through the door._

_Suddenly the door opened and Charlie, Bill, Fred, George and Percy all fell forward in one big pile._

"_Boys!" Arthur tutted, bending over to help pull them all up. "You should not be listening. Bill, Charlie, upstairs please, at once. You three…" He tutted at his younger sons and pointed firmly back into the sitting room. "Go on."_

_With pouting faces, the twins and Percy trudged back to where they had been and Bill and Charlie clattered sulkily upstairs where they couldn't hear what was going on._

_xxxXxxx_

_It was only a few minutes before a loud, heartwrenching cry sounded all throughout the Burrow, the likes of which none of the children had ever heard come from either of their parents._

_Bill clattered back down the stairs as quickly as he had gone up with Charlie just behind, and Fred and George looked terrified as they ran back to the door and nearly hurtled right into Charlie._

_Without needing to go much closer to the door than the foot of the stairs, they could all clearly hear their mother crying and their father's shocked "No". The boys exchanged looks and Bill reached out to take hold of the back of the twins' jumpers to stop them running in. It didn't seem like any of them were going to any efforts to keep their voices down anymore, as the Auror's next words were just as audible._

"_They went like heroes, both of 'em. I've seen more bravery in those two young wizards than in countless older ones."_

"_What does that mean?" Charlie whispered, looking at his older brother who just shrugged and swallowed nervously. "What happened?"_

"_I'm so sorry…" Dumbledore's voice echoed, which was surely little comfort to their mother who only seemed to sob harder._

"_But…" Arthur's voice was disbelieving, empty, like he was in shock. "Surely not those two…there has to be a mistake…they're the last who-"_

"_There is no mistaking the Prewett twins, I assure you."_

"_How-how did…"_

"_Raids. They took a lot down of their own before Gideon got hit and I can assure you Fabian avenged his brother before they got him too."_

"_Stop! Oh please, no, just…" Molly's words were barely decipherable amidst her cries and the boys outside the room could hear the creaking of chairs on the floorboards as their guests stood up to take their leave._

"_The Order is more than willing to offer you any help you may need, I think we had best leave now, Alastor."_

"_Aye." Came the growl and a few moments later a door closed and the Weasleys were left alone._

xxxXxxx

He remembered as clearly as though it had happened yesterday, seeing their mother sobbing brokenly on the kitchen floor with their father's arms wrapped around her. He remembered he, George, and Percy all being pulled into her arms when their parents saw them staring in confusion in the doorway, and how they had no idea what was happening. All they knew at three years old was that their Mummy had never cried like that and it was scary.

Later that night, when their father had sat all his sons down, holding baby Ron in his arms, and told them their uncles wouldn't be coming to see them again, Fred and George had cried and thought they'd done something so terrible even Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon couldn't forgive them.

Fred remembered George asking what it meant when Arthur said that they were gone forever and he remembered Bill, who was ten years old at the time and old enough to understand what dead meant, running out into the yard with tears in his eyes.

For a long time, it felt like their mother would look at her twin boys and see her brothers, then she would pull them close to her and tell them how much she loved them even when they were naughty. Fred Gideon, and George Fabian Weasley had been named for the Prewetts when they were born and never a day went by when Molly wasn't glad for naming them so.

The twins exchanged a look as George's memory was stirred by the conversation. They hoped never to have to see their mother, or their father so distraught again. It really was a terrible memory and George didn't envy his brother being forced to relive it.

Fred was still sitting upright, his chin on his knees and looking sombre. George stifled a yawn and looked over at his twin in concern. "We'll win, ya know? Good will out, and all that."

"I know that." Fred said dryly and looked at George out of the corner of his eye. "I'm not worried about losing the _war_."

"You're just messed up after today, you'll be fine tomorrow."

"Yeah, probably." Fred shrugged and sunk a little lower down toward the mattress. "…Did your head hurt?"

"…Huh?" George was taken aback by the question and the yawn he had been trying to hold back escaped. "O-Oh…yeah, I guess it flared up for a bit. Apparently I'm still sensitive to dark magic in the air."

"It looked painful."

"It's not too bad, but you would have regretted it by now if you'd actually lopped yours off to match." George teased, touching the side of his head and tracing his fingers around the hole there. He was determined to distract Fred at least a little from the slump he seemed to be in, so maybe he could get back to sleep.

It worked and Fred looked indignantly at him all of a sudden. "You're saying I couldn't handle it? You're crazy."

"Your words, not mine." George smirked and swung his legs back onto his bed. "And I'm not crazy, I'm just a little bit deaf. See, you sound more like yourself already…now can I go back to sleep?"


End file.
